The Senate has approved N17 billion as the Universal Service Provision Fund’s (USPF) 2024 budgetary estimate.
USPF is a Nigerian Communications Commission agency tasked with promoting the widespread availability and use of network and application services throughout Nigeria to institutions, unserved, underserved areas, and underserved groups within communities across the country.
Thursday’s approval followed a report by the Chairman of the Committee on Communications 2024 Budget of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Sen. Bilbis, Aliyu Ikra representing Zamfara Central.
Lawmakers like Senator Adeola Olamilekan who threw their weight behind the approval, argue that more funds should even be considered to augment the agency’s operations, particularly against the backdrop of statistics which pegged Nigeria’s internet penetration rate at 55.4 percent of the total population at the start of 2023.